Son Aditya emerges as Shivpal shadow

Lucknow: The embattled Shivpal Singh Yadav appears to be grooming son Aditya Yadav as his answer to nephew and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who has humbled him in the latest round of the power struggle within the Samajwadi Party's first family. Aditya, who is in his late 20s, has been chairman of the State Cooperative Federation since February 2013 but was hardly seen in public with Shivpal, the youngest brother of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. But he has been constantly at his father's side since the latest crisis broke on Tuesday, with Mulayam replacing son Akhilesh with Shivpal as state unit president and the chief minister hitting back by stripping his uncle of key ministerial portfolios. Shivpal quit the cabinet and his party post last night but both his resignations were rejected by Mulayam and the victorious Akhilesh today. Aditya was seen standing behind Shivpal when they stepped out of their ancestral home in Saifai on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday when Shivpal addressed his supporters in the village. He also accompanied his father to Mulayam's residence in Delhi on Wednesday where they held a long but indecisive meeting. When, after his double resignation, Shivpal came out of his Lucknow home last night to address his agitated supporters, Aditya was behind him, making polite conversation with the crowd. He reappeared with his father this morning when Shivpal again addressed his supporters at the gate of his home. "Those camping outside Shivpal's home since last night were mostly young people. They are Aditya's people," a senior Samajwadi politician said on condition of anonymity. "Till recently, Shivpal used to say that Akhilesh was a son to him. But he was also grooming Aditya to support him in the event of a crisis," the politician said. "By keeping Aditya with him, Shivpal is trying to send a message to Mulayam and his son Akhilesh that he too has a son to stand by him." The recently married Aditya, who lost the Jaswantnagar zilla panchayat polls in 2010, is preparing to contest next year's Assembly elections from Jaswantnagar, his father's seat. Shivpal is expected to shift to another seat. Addressing the crowd today, Shivpal projected himself as a disciplined soldier of the party and said: "We will not let the party weaken in any situation. Netaji's (Mulayam) word is our command." But he also prodded the crowd to mount pressure on Mulayam on his behalf. "Go to the party headquarters, where Netaji will arrive after a while. You must vent your anger before him in a disciplined manner," he said. Standing behind him, Aditya was seen motioning the crowd with his hands to march towards the Samajwadi headquarters, where they created a din for over an hour before most of them left. In Etawah, the home district of the Yadavs, an Aditya supporter named Pushpendra Yadav tried self-immolation. He was taken to hospital with 40 per cent burns. "I am pained at whatever is happening with Aditya's father," he was quoted as saying from his hospital bed. -The Telegraph, Calcutta